A former Microsoft executive, Liu said more than 40 people, excluding herself, helped craft the Roosevelt neighborhood plan in the late 1990s. And residents expect the city to take it seriously.

But while Roosevelt's neighborhood plan still accurately reflects community values, she said, it needs "tweaking" to address a new Sound Transit light rail station. The station, which will be along 12th Ave. N.E. at N.E. 65th Street, west of recently remodeled Roosevelt High School, is envisioned as a new neighborhood "town center," with more multi-family housing, retail and other community amenities.

"Roosevelt has a great plan; the vast majority of the work has already been done," Liu said. "It still speaks for those who are here."

But while updating, Liu said, residents are working "cordially" with the city to accommodate more growth, while expecting certain rights to be respected.

"Often, neighborhoods assume bad intentions on the part of the city and developers, but if you assume everyone has good intentions, you have a better chance of getting something mutually beneficial," Liu said.

Yet neighbors insist on retaining quality-of-life issues such as community safety, pedestrian access, "graceful" design, and supporting local restaurants and businesses, she said.

They don't want old trees cut down, and they want more public art; some existing exhibits are in seemingly improbable places -- like a traffic circle along N.E. 63rd St., which is decorated with turquoise-colored glass.

"Low-income housing is not an inalienable right," Liu said. "Roosevelt will have more condos and townhouses of people of different income levels. We embrace those things, but in a way that gracefully integrates with the current neighborhood."

She echoed comments by neighborhood leaders citywide. "Too-tall buildings next to single-family homes are ungraceful. Rooflines should be aesthetically pleasing, not a jarring experience. And residents have the right to walk to (nearby) Whole Foods and not get hit by a car."

Seattle Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis, speaking not specifically about Roosevelt, says the city is aware and concerned about the design issues surrounding new construction, particularly townhouses.

"People don't like the town homes that are cookie-cutter, non-descript," Ceis said.

"The city has design guidelines, which have been pretty successful in a lot of areas, and we have some regulatory authority to encourage development we want to see.

"But some of it just comes down to architecture -- and it's really hard to regulate architecture."